Achieving a strong staffChurch Executive Share It's been said that the three most important rules of real estate are "location, location, location!" Likewise, managing any size church staff has a similar critical rule: "communication, communication, communication." Like most great leadership lessons, we learned this the hard way. The communication issues can be narrowed to two general areas of focus to be immediately addressed: staffwide communication and one-on-one communication.More

'Reverts' return to their childhood religionsUSA Today Share According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, more than half of Americans say they've switched religions at least once, but just 9 percent of U.S. adults say they've returned to the pews, practices and prayers that shaped them. They're not converts; they're reverts. And religious denominations are stepping up efforts to reclaim, re-energize — and sometimes re-educate — these fallen-away faithful.More

Keep Volunteers ActiveWhen people join the church they are often eager to volunteer but after a time enthusiasm decreases. To keep volunteers actively participating and to help them continue their growth within the church, download the ACS ministry guide Raising Your Volunteer Numbers today.

An introduction to the benefits of online givingWorship Facilities Share Carrying cash seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. The increase in technology and use of alternative payment methods continues to change the way we do things, including how members give back to their places of worship. In order to address the evolving times, many churches are turning to online giving, providing their members with a way to donate that best suits their needs. Here are just a few benefits of using online giving.More

With fraud prevention, patience and planning reign supremeManaging Your Church Share Fraud prevention in churches isn't an easy subject to bring up. The topic naturally creates tension, pushing up emotion levels with staff, lay leaders and volunteers. And for good reason: One significant prevention tactic requires two people — not one — to handle the money collected at services. So, tactfully explaining to a sole financial worker or volunteer why more people are needed can be awkward. More

In 200-year tradition, most Christian missionaries are AmericanReuters Share The United States sent out 127,000 of the world's estimated 400,000 missionaries abroad in 2010, according to Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. In distant second place is Brazil, which sent 34,000 missionaries abroad in 2010. The United States receives the most missionaries as well, with 32,400 in 2010. Many are Brazilians who largely work in Brazilian communities in the Northeast.More

Book says young Christians want more than politicsAssociated Baptist Press Share Today's young Christians aren't interested in enlisting for the culture wars that created a brand of Christianity focused more on the ballot box than serving others, author and cultural commentator Jonathan Merritt says in a new book due out May 8. "Christians are rejecting the polemical, power-hungry and partisan politics of the culture wars," Merritt said. "We need to be involved in politics, but in an independent, civil, embodied way."More

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Protecting kids at churchManaging Your Church Share Church should be the safest place on earth, where kids can learn and grow in their faith. Sadly, many children have experienced abuse — physical, emotional and sexual — at the hands of people they trusted at church. The video clip featured here highlights curriculum your church can use for training all staff, volunteers and board members on best practices for protecting kids at church.More

Poll: Christianity good for the poor, bad for sexReligion News Service Share Americans feel the Christian faith has a positive impact on help for the poor and raising children with good morals, according to a new poll, but it gets a bad rap on its impact on sexuality in society. In a new study conducted by Grey Matter Research, more than 1,000 American adults were asked if the Christian faith had a positive, negative or no real impact on 16 different areas of society, such as crime, poverty and the role of women in society.More

Church gives back by paying for gasHattiesburg American Share Signs along two streets in Hattiesburg, Miss., let drivers know that as part of an Easter celebration, West Point Church would be picking up part of their gas tabs, slicing the price at the pump by 25 cents a gallon between 11 a.m. and noon. "We wanted to see how we could make an impact on the community and how we could give back," said the Rev. Marcus Cathey, pastor of West Point. "It's part of what we call 'Whatever It Takes,' and the idea is to reach out to people and show a love of Christ to others."More

Raising the bar: Are churches making following Jesus too easy?Out of Ur Share Could churches benefit from raising the bar for those considering a commitment to Christ? For the most part, we have specialized in doing the exact opposite. We talk about smoothing the path to God and removing obstacles to faith. Every time people question the validity of a "soft touch" public ministry, they're assured they have a solid discipleship program on the backend. But that seems backward.More

Complete Child Protection PolicyProtect My Ministry specializes in serving churches and faith-based organizations through comprehensive background checks that have been created to meet your needs. Protect My Ministry is trusted by many of the largest churches and denominations in the country and currently serves thousands of churches in all 50 states. MORE

10 things you can learn from the Apple StoreHow to Change the World Share In the decade since Steve Jobs and former head of retail Ron Johnson decided to reimagine the retail experience, the Apple Store not only reimagined and reinvented retail, it blew up the model entirely and started from scratch. In his research for The Apple Experience, Carmine Gallo discovered 10 things that the Apple Store can teach any business in any industry, including churches, to be more successful.More

Ministry leaders: Try whoa for a changeResonate or Die Share Sometimes a "whoa" sign might be better than a stop sign because whoa is more like yield than stop. Whoa says, "Slow down. Look around, take stock and then go." Whoa leaves room for thought before action. Many times leaders throw up stop signs that squash team enthusiasm and adversely impact God-given progress in their ministries. Instead, when another team member wants to advance, a good leader will gently pull on the reigns before moving forward.More

Copy matters: Style guidesChurch Marketing Sucks Share Words are tricky, and the English language is hardly simple and logical. Even when you get past the not-so-simple rights and wrongs of writing, there are more decisions you have to make that don't always have easy answers. Welcome to the world of style. There's not always a right or wrong answer, as long as you're consistent. For the love of all things holy, be consistent. And to be consistent, you're going to need a style guide.More

The 2 most common questions visitors askChurchLeaders.com Share If a first-time visitor to your church has to ask more than one question, you've probably lost them for good. Here's why. We live in America. Americans by nature shop. Shoppers not only shop, they compare. Not only do they compare, they keep score. When Americans walk into a store, restaurant, movie, doctors office or church, they are keeping score.More

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